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Thousands Flee Greek Migrant Camp Fire as Tensions Flare

Thousands Flee Greek Migrant Camp Fire as Tensions Flare

More than 4,000 people were housed at the camp in Moria on Lesbos when the fire broke out late Monday, destroying tents and trailers.

Sep.20.2016 / 4:58 PM ET7 PHOTOS

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Authorities on the island of Lesbos called for the immediate evacuation Tuesday of thousands of refugees to the Greek mainland after a fire gutted a detention camp following protests. But European Union officials appeared cool to the idea.

More than 4,000 people were housed at the camp in Moria on Lesbos where the fire broke out late Monday, destroying or damaging tents and trailers. No injuries were reported at the camp, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) north of the island's main town.

Nine migrants were arrested on public disturbance charges after the chaotic scenes.

Above: Migrants argue with riot police in the camp in Moria on Lesbos island, Greece, on Sept. 19, 2016.

— STRATIS BALASKAS / EPA

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Migrants hold their belonging as a large fire burns inside the camp late Monday.

Families with young children hastily packed up their belongings and fled into the nearby fields as the fire raged after nightfall. Many were later given shelter at volunteer-run camps.

— Michael Schwarz / AP

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A migrant is covered with a blanket after the fire.

"We have been saying for a very long time that overcrowding on the islands must be eased," regional governor Christiana Kalogirou told private Skai television.

"On the islands of the northeast Aegean, official facilities have a capacity of 5,450 places, but more than 10,500 people are there. There is an immediate need to take people off the islands because things will get even more difficult," she said.

— Manolis Lagoutaris / InTime News via Reuters

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Migrants wait next to burned tents at the camp on Sept. 20, following the overnight fire.

More than 60,000 migrants and refugees are stranded in transit in Greece, and those who arrived after March 20 have been restricted to five Aegean islands under an EU-brokered deal to deport them back to Turkey. But the agreement has been fraught with delays.

— LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP - Getty Images

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In Brussels, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, Natasha Bertaud, said the Greek government had described the situation as being under control. Transfers to the mainland, she said, would remain limited.

"To avoid secondary movement to the rest of Europe, that means keeping asylum seekers on the islands for the most part," Bertaud said.

— GIORGOS MOUTAFIS / Reuters

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The government is expected to charter passenger ferries to provide temporary accommodation, and increase the police presence on Lesbos -- defending the deportation deal that came under renewed criticism from human rights groups.

"Witnessing the charred remains of Moria camp is shocking but comes as little surprise. Holding thousands of vulnerable people on Lesbos in appalling conditions with no knowledge of their fate inevitably creates an incendiary atmosphere of fear and despondency."